Fire screen construction



Nov. 1, 1960 G. E. RUBENS FIRE SCREEN CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 11, 1956 INVENTOR.

BY F Y W ATTORNEY GERALD E. RUBENS,

haw; 49 1 United States Patent O FIRE SCREEN CONSTRUCTION Gerald E. Rubens, 334 Comstock Ave, Los Angeles 24, Calif.

Filed Jan. 11, 1956, Ser. No. 558,494

3 Claims. (Cl. 160-49) This invention relates to a fire screen construction and more particularly to a fire screen construction which is suitable for corner fireplaces.

In present fire screen construction, the screen is usually attached to the interior surface of the fireplace at the outer edge. However, with this type of construction, it is difficult to obtain a finished appearance at the corner of a corner fireplace. Also, in fireplaces constructed of stone or brick, the mounting fixtures of present construction are not always located in a position to provide a secure attachment to the fireplace.

By the present invention, fire screen sections are provided for the sides of the fireplace and each section can be easily attached to the wall above the fireplace opening. To accomplish such attachment, two adjustable brackets are provided for mounting each section so that the brackets can be located at positions where a secure attachment to the wall can be obtained. When the brackets are positioned and secured to the wall, they are also securely locked to the fire screen section to hold the section rigidly in place. Also, the ends of each section are closed so that one section can overlap the other section at the corner and form a closed corner construction 'with a finished appearance.

The screen of each section is supported by eyelets and an end bracket, all of which are slidably supported in a channel member extending the length of the section. The channel member is secured to the top side of an angular cover member by spaced screws and the cover also has a front side to obscure the channel member, eyelets and end bracket. Each of the two mounting bracket for a section are substantially L-shaped with one leg being secured around the channel member so that it can slide along the channel member in a space provided between the top of the channel member and the top side of the angular cover. By tightening the screws which secure the channel member to the top side of the cover, the brackets can be locked in any selected position for attachment to the wall. The mounting brackets contain slots for receiving the wall screws so that the complete section can also be adjusted vertically with respect to the fireplace opening. Also, the ends of the top side of the cover are bent downwardly to meet the ends of the front side in order to provide a closed construction at the end of each section. While the construction of the fire screen section is particularly suitable for corner fireplaces, it is apparent that the construction is suitable for use with other shapes of fireplaces.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a fire screen construction which can be readily attached to the wall above the fireplace by brackets which are adjustable along the screen to a position where suitable attachment to the wall can be obtained.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fire screen section for a corner fireplace which can be easily attached to the exterior wall of the fireplace above the fireplace opening and which can be overlapped at the corner of the fireplace to form a finished corner construction.

A further object of the invention resides in a novel bracket for attaching fire screens to the exterior wall above a fireplace opening, which bracket can be adjusted along the length of the screen and also permits vertical adjustment of the fire screen.

These and other objects of the invention not specifically set forth above, will become readily apparent from the accompanying description and drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a corner fireplace showing the manner in which the end of one fire screen section overlaps the end of the other section at the corner of the fireplace.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view, partly in section, showing the adjustable mounting brackets and the channel member for supporting the screen.

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section along line 3-3 of Figure 2 illustrating the manner in which a mounting bracket is secured to the channel member and to the exterior wall of the fireplace.

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section along line 44 of Figure 2 showing the eyelets for the screen slidably attached to the channel member.

Referring to Figure 1, a corner fireplace is formed in walls 10 and 11 at corner 12. The walls can be fabricated of any suitable material, such as stone or brick, and a hearth 13 can extend from each wall. The openings in walls 10 and 11 are covered by fire screen sections 14 and 15, respectively, which are identical in construction. In order to close the fireplace opening at corner 12, the end of section 14 overlaps the end of section 15 in a manner to be later described.

The construction of one of the fire screen sections. is illustrated in Figure 2 and the section has a cover member formed of top side 16 and front side 17. The ends 18 of the top side are bent downwardly to meet the ends of the front side so as to close the ends of the cover member. A channel member 19 is located below the top side 16 and contains a lower slot 20 which receives a plurality of brackets 21 and a pair of brackets 22. Each bracket 21 has U-shaped sides 23 for receiving the edges of slot 20 and has a flat top portion 24 located within the channel member (see Figure 4). The portion 24 has an opening for receiving the end of an eyelet 25 which hangs downwardly and is held by enlarged end 26 bearing against portion 24. The brackets 21 are free to move along slot 20 and the eyelets are free to rotate. The hook portion 27 of each eyelet supports a ring 28 secured to the upper edge of mesh screen 29 and the rings are spaced along the upper edge of the screen so that the screen will be evenly supported when in closed position.

Each of the brackets 22 has U-shaped sides 30 for receiving the edges of slot 20 and has a flat bottom portion 31 located below the channel member (see Figure 3). The pair of brackets. 22 are rigidly secured to top side 33 of an end bracket 34 by means of rivets 35. Back side 36 extends along the top of screen 29 and has spaced openings 37 for supporting the end of screen 29 by a number of rings 28. A pull chain 38 is attached to one of the rings 28 in end bracket 34 in order to move the bracket 34 back and forth along slot 20 of channel member 19. An angular shaped member 39 has one leg 40 held by screw 41 in the end of channel member 19 to cover the end portion of slot 20 and downwardly extending leg 42 has an opening for supporting the ring 28 at the end of the screen. The inner end of leg 40 serves as a stop for the eyelet 25 nearest the end of the screen, when the screen is opened by pull cord 38. A similar angular shaped bracket 43 has one leg 44 held by screw 45 in the opposite end of channel member 19' and downwardly extending leg 46 serves as :a. stop for the end of side 36 of bracket 34 when the screen is pulled completely closed by the pull chain. Thus, the screen 29 of each section is supported along its length by slidable eyelets 25 and slidable end" bracket 34 so that the screen can be opened and closed by moving end bracket away from or towards the leg 46 by Ipull chain 38.

The channel member 19 of each section is secured to the top side 16 by means of twoscrews 47 (only one of which is shown in Figure 2) and the screws are spaced inwardly from opposite ends of the cover member (see Figure 1). Each screw 47 passes through top side 16 and is threaded into an opening in the top of channel member 19, and a spacer washer 48 is received by each screw 47 and located between top side 16 and the top of channel member 19. A mounting bracket 49 has a leg 50 which extends between the top side 16 and the channel member 19 and is curved at its end to surround one side of the channel member. The other leg 51 of mounting bracket 49 extends downwardly and contains a bent out portion 52 which engages the opposite side of channel member 19 so that the mounting bracket 49 is slidably attached to the channel member. The lower end of leg 51 contains a slot 53 which serves to secure bracket 49 to the exterior wall of the fireplace.

It is pointed out that the thickness of Washer 48 is somewhat less than the thickness of leg 50 of bracket 49 so that screw 47 must be loosened to permit the bracket to slide along the channel member. However, after the bracket 49 is suitably positioned, tightening of the screw 47 will cause the leg 50 to be gripped between top side 16 and the channel member'in order to secure the bracket in the desired position. Thus, bracket 49 can be positioned at any location between the full line and phantom line position shown in Figure 2 and thereafter locked in position by screw 47. Of course, the distance which the bracket 49 can be moved away from screw 47 will be determined by the rigidity of channel member 19 and the thickness of washer 48 relative to leg 50.

The installation of a fireplace section will now be described. Suitable locations on the exterior wall above the fireplace are selected to receive inserts 54 for screws 55 which hold the brackets 49. Obviously, the positions available for the inserts are limited because of the use of mortar in brick and stone construction. After the inserts :are installed, the brackets 49 can be moved along channel member 19 to positions opposite the inserts and the screws 47 can be tightened to secure the brackets in position. Thereafter, the fire screen section is secured by inserting the slot 53 of each bracket over a screw 55 and tightening the screws. In Figure 3, one of the mounting brackets is shown attached to wall and it is noted that the insert 54 is located in a firm position in the stone or brick and somewhat above the top surface 56 of the fireplace. Because of the length of slot 53, the inserts can be located above the top surface 56 and the fire screen can be adjusted up or down to a suitable position before screws 55 are tightened. Thus, the mounting brackets 49 can be adjusted sideways and also permit the complete screen to be adjusted up and down so that the inserts can be properly located Without effecting the appearance of the screen. By closing the end of each section with ends 18, the screen sections 14 and can be applied to opposite sides of corner 12 and the end of section 14 can overlap the adjacent end of section 15 to provide a finished construction. Instead, the end of section 15 could overlap the adjacent end of section 14 and obtain the same effect at the corner.

By the present invention, a fire screen construction is provided which permits the screen to be supported from suitable support locations on the exterior wall above the fireplace opening. It is understood that the support brackets can be slidably attached to the fire screen section in various manners and that any suitable locking means can be used to hold the support brackets in the desired position. Also, various sliding screen support structures can be used to permit the screen to be opened and closed. Various other modifications are contemplated by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A fire screen construction for a fireplace comprising a channel member having an opening extending along the lower surface for slidably receiving support brackets, a fire screen securely attached at one end to said channel member and supported along its length by said brackets, a cover member positioned above the top of saidchannel member, attachment means for attaching said cover memher to the upper surface of said channel member at positions inwardly of each end of said channel member, spacer means located at said attachment means toseparate said cover member and saidchannel member, and a bracket member slidably supported on each end of said channel member and having a leg portion located between the end of the channel member and the attachment means, each of said leg portions of said bracket members passing through the space between said cover member and said channel member and being of greater thickness than said spacer means, and curved at its end to surround one side of said channel member, said attachment means engaging said cover member and channel member with said spacer means at spaced points in order to lock each bracket member against slidable movement on said channel member at a selected position adjacent the end of said channel member.

2. A fire screen construction as defined in claim 1 wherein said attachment means comprises screw means passing through said cover member and threaded'to the upper surface of said channel member and said spacer means comprises spacer washers receiving said screw means.

3. A fire screen construction as defined in claim 2 wherein each bracket member comprises a second leg portion extending downwardly from said channel member and containing a vertical slit, and means received by said slit for securing said second leg portion to a fireplace in order to support said fire screen, the slidable attachment of said bracket members to said channel member permitting said second leg portions to located at'positions for firm attachment to a fireplace and said slits'permitting said fire screen to be vertically adjusted.

References (Iited in the file of this patent Great Britain Nov. 20, 1939 

